I have no one to blame but myself. I exhausted myself making chicken pot pie. I bought into the easy-breezy style of the tv chef. I watched the episode and stored it away in my old mind, excited for the changes. I have made plenty of chicken pot pies. My previous attempts have resulted in soggy crusts. Not enough filling, too big a pan? Probably all of the above. This chicken pot pie is different. A few more steps. Cream cheese in the pie crust???? I am promised a flaky, bubbly pot pie. Why not?

I will tell you why not. After 700 steps, 50 pans and utensils, the final step is what flabbergasted me. “Put chicken pot pie in freezer for 15 minutes until the dough feels frozen.” If I had room in my freezer for a chicken pot pie, I’d have bought one. I have chopped, stirred, shredded, rolled, chilled, cooled off and grated. For hours. I followed each step with the focus of a dog, waiting for food to drop. I became dehydrated, forced  to drink 10 glasses of water. Now at 3am Hubs and I will be positioning for the bathroom. I still have laundry to do. Knitting? Someday. I have emptied the trash twice and run the dishwasher once. This process has been ongoing for hours.  I am now chilling the filling before I bake it. Hot filling in a cold crust is a no-no.

Why does only the pie dough get to rest for 20 minutes? I have done all the work.  I am heading to the couch with a coffee drip. Wake me in 30.

In lieu of the freezer step, I rolled out the dough and placed it in the pie plate, and the other crust on a cookie sheet, and placed them in the fridge. I call this my work around. I am now measuring all efforts by what needs to be hand washed or placed in the dishwasher. My efforts of rolling out the pie dough fell a little short. A little tug. A little pull. Good enough. The raw dough tastes delish! Crimping is crucial. I don’t want anything boiling over and under the crust. I speak from experience. I fork the crust. I pour the cooled filling from the bowl into the pie pan. Bowl and fork, dishwasher. Cookie sheet. Rolling pin. Hand wash. Damn it. I have to beat an egg to create an egg wash. Spread over top pie crust. Cut slits into crust for venting. What do you do with leftover egg wash? Sometimes I microwave it and then throw it out. I’m too weak. No lunch. Just water. Bowl, spreading thingy, knife, and another fork…..dishwasher. I placed the pie plate on another cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I just looked up and saw people outside. Walking. Freely. In the warm sunshine. Sigh. A ray of sun has landed on my tablecloth. Crumbs.  Parmesan? When…what…. oh, never mind. Add to laundry…some.day.

Pot pie is in the pre-heated oven. Please say prayers for me.

DONE! It is beautiful. Golden brown and bubbling, just as promised. No soggy top crust, no oozing filling. Will I make this again? Meh. It was delicious, but it’s very time-consuming to prepare. At the end of the day, it’s chicken pot pie, tasty but labor intensive.